ENG-1971 — Page 208

11

Immigration and Tourism

IMMIGRATION

RECORDED movements of travellers in 1971 totalled 6,223,797, an increase of seven per cent over 1970. Lacking the fillip given by Expo '70 the previous year, movements by air fell three per cent but this was offset by an increase in travel by sea and land. In particular, traffic on the Hong Kong-Macau route increased 10 per cent, despite the disastrous effects of typhoon Rose which hit Hong Kong in August and sank the SS Fat Shan, beached the SS Macau and damaged most of the hydrofoils employed on the service.

Immigration control policies remained unchanged. To encourage tourism and ensure the freest possible movement of visitors, every effort was made to reduce immigration formalities to the minimum. Unfortunately, disturbed conditions in several nearby territories necessitated the tightening of some visa controls. The policy govern- ing entry for residence and employment continued to be selective. Applications for entry by close relatives of residents and by former residents were dealt with liberally. Applications for entry for em- ployment were generally approved provided the person possessed special skill, knowledge or experience of value to, and not readily available in Hong Kong, or that the applicant was able to make a substantial contribution to the economy of the Colony.

During the year there were indications of shortages of semi-skilled and unskilled labour in certain industries and it was suggested that overseas recruitment should be allowed to meet these shortages. However it was not considered timely to change the current policy although the Government undertook to keep the suggestion in view.

Hong Kong continued to attract illegal immigrants, mainly from China, Macau, and the countries of South-East Asia. The total number detected was 12,607, a decrease of just over five per cent on the preceding year. However, there was a large increase in illegal entry from Macau and China and a noticeable rise in the number of travellers from Vietnam and the Khmer Republic who entered Hong Kong ostensibly in transit but remained illegally.